Twelve on the Clock
by leighwrites
Summary: In the centre of a thick woodland there is a deserted mansion. Following alleged reports made by local teenagers, the mansion has been closed off and it has become a famous setting for ghost stories among the village's population; after things take a turn for the worst, what started as a fun day out becomes a life threatening tragedy. A take on HetaOni. T for gore and language.


_A/N: This new story is very much Hetaoni, although with a different plot. The only characters involved are the original ten in the mansion, plus Spain and Romano. There is no Steve. In this one, it's more supernatural occurrences rather than being chased around by a mutant alien, purely because some evil religious and ghostly phenomenon is more appealing than said mutant being said, there is also no time loops or complicated events going on. I only took the initial idea, that being the mansion and everyone slowly dying, and changed it up._

_I wanted to do this because I've always wanted to write Hetaoni, but I'm still confused by the time loops and I haven't actually completed the game yet, so I've tweaked the story to fit my own tastes. However, I'll attempt to put in as many of the moments that struck the fandom. We all know which moment I'm thinking of right now, but like I said, I'll have to resort to Google for some scenes. I hope I do the story justice! Enjoy! UvU_

* * *

"_Bruder,_ look what I found!"

Gilbert looked away from the bright computer screen to wave his brother over. When he did, he waved the mouse around the screen over a small picture on a Wikipedia article. His brother hovered over his shoulder, scanning the paragraphs of text beneath the image.

"'_In the centre of a thick woodland there is a deserted mansion. Commonly referred to in many popular urban legends and myths. It is unknown how long it has been there and whom has lived in it. Following alleged reports made by local teenagers, the mansion has been closed off and trespassing has resulted in fines. It has become a famous setting for ghost stories among the village's population._'" Gilbert read aloud, glancing at his brother. "What do you think?"

Ludwig cocked an eyebrow. "I think you are taken to researching these types of locations."

"Yeah, but imagine how awesome it would be to go! We could round up some buddies and stay there the night and see who chickens out first."

"I don't think that is a good idea, Gilbert. It doesn't sound like a safe place."

Gilbert snorted before spinning around on his leather chair back to his computer. "You scared?"

"Of course not."

"Then we'll go." Gilbert said, scrolling down the page.

* * *

Feliciano had looked further into the mansion before suggested they drive most of the way. Gilbert and his brother agreed, and having invited their friend Kiku, let Ludwig drive. For most of the journey, the sky had darkened considerably and Feliciano had taken to counting the raindrops beginning to roll down the windshields, while Kiku made a muted complaint at the lack of a cell phone signal as they got closer to their destination. Gilbert suddenly told his brother to park the car when the outsides of the forest came into view. As Ludwig removed the keys from the ignition, he observed the wooden fence bordering the forest. Feliciano was the first out of the car, running excitedly towards the gate.

"Feliciano, wait!" Ludwig called, undoing his seatbelt.

With the other three in tow, Feliciano hopped over the gate, minding the rusted signs and nails protruding precariously from the old wood. The sound of gravel under his boots was pleasing, and he smiled as he crunched through the narrow track that winded between the thin spindly trees, all of which were shedding their leaves and steadily thinning out as winter fast approached. Ludwig followed at the slowest pace, hesitantly looking back at the car several times before catching up to his friends.

Feliciano continuously led the way, pointing out how dark and cold it was getting several times. While they trekked through the thickening forest, the raindrops from earlier proceeded to grow heavier and fall faster. Following Feliciano's lead, the four picked up their pace through the trees, hoping that the mansion atop the hill would appear soon. Soon the crunch of the gravel underfoot began to sound wet and unappealing. Then, to each friend's relief, Feliciano suddenly pointed and cried.

"The mansion, I can see it! The hill isn't as big as we saw in the photos. Come on!"

Feliciano took off at full speed up the hill, careful not to slip on the soaked grass and fall right back to the bottom. He was the first to reach the black wrought gates that surrounded the mansion.

"It's really here!" he said as his friends caught up.

Kiku came to stand beside him at the gates, chest heaving up and down for breath. "I thought it was just a rumour... A lot of ghost stories usually are. I did not think we would find it so easily."

All four of them glanced around the setting. Beyond the fencing, there was an unkempt garden, full of brambles and thick oak trees that wilted and had no leaves. Littering the muddy ground were shards of glass and bricks and various items that previous visitors must have left behind. Gilbert tugged at a piece of ivy tightly hugging the bars of the gate.

"It's got a really desolate feel. Not bad at all. See, _bruder_, I told you this would be worth it."

"I don't think this is very interesting." Ludwig countered, looking at the upper floors of the mansion warily.

Kiku nodded. "It certainly is a surprise to find, but can we not just look at it from the outside and then go back?"

Feliciano feigned a pout, but had a gleam in his eyes. "After all the trouble we went through to find it? We could at least go in for a minute!"

Kiku regarded the gate. "It's locked from the inside. Do we climb over?"

Gilbert waved his hand about. "I'll boost you all up! I am the strongest after all."

Feliciano leaned on the gate, but let out a yelp of surprise as the bars gave way and he fell to the ground. He groaned mutedly before hauling himself up and staring apologetically at the broken bars.

"Are you okay?" Kiku asked.

"That hurt my back." he complained childishly.

"The mansion must have been here for years if the gate can break like that." Ludwig remarked.

"Now we have no choice but to go in," Gilbert said in an airy voice. "Come on!"

The albino strolled past the now useless gate into the front yard of the lot, carefully treading over spiky bushes and avoiding deep looking puddles. Feliciano quickly followed, taking Gilbert's exact steps until they reached the very front of the house. Ludwig noted that the exterior of the mansion was not nearly as chaotic and dishevelled at the rest of the garden, save for a broken window on the second floor and a collection of creative graffiti tags on one wall. Gilbert headed straight up the steps and stopped in front of the large oak double doors.

"Do you think it's open?" Feliciano asked.

"Of course!" Gilbert said sarcastically, placing a hand on the knob and pushing. "A blocked off house is bound to have unlocked doors, and- oh, it _is_ open."

"Strange, seeing as it's closed off." Kiku put in.

Nevertheless, Gilbert opened the door fully and made a sound of approval. Feliciano stepped in and made the same sound.

"Wow, it's cleaner than I thought."

Kiku and Ludwig filed in as Gilbert held the door open with the tip of his foot. "How many rooms you think there are?"

All four of them scanned the hall they were in, which alone felt bigger than they had felt the mansion was. From where they stood they could count four rooms and a wide staircase. Ludwig looked down the hall beside the staircase and concluded that the mansion must have been larger near the back than they had originally thought. With a shiver, he thought there was perhaps a basement below the three storeys. He had seen many horror movies he had been forced to endure with his brother, and considered the possibility of winding chambers right below the very spot in which they stood, but immediately abandoned the thought as he was certain a cold breeze blew down the hall. He cleared his throat.

"We should go now, we've been here a minute."

Gilbert gave him a mocking look. "What's the matter, _bruder? _Are you scared?"

Ludwig was about to defend himself when a resounding crash pierced the thin air, sounding distinctly like glass. Feliciano squeaked and dove behind Ludwig. Kiku appeared to be the only one who kept his cool exterior. He gave the Germans and the cowering Italian a reassuring look.

"It's not like there are ghosts here or anything. You know it's an urban legend. Very popular in my country, although none of them are true. I'll see what happened."

"Be careful, Kiku!" Feliciano called out as their friend turned on his heel and strode down the hall.

* * *

Kiku had checked the two doors at the end of the right side of the hall, and found only one to be open, which was a large lounge with an adjoined kitchen. He had found the source of the sound that had startled them all, which had turned out to be a broken plate. Kiku told himself that it simply fell from the counter, and nothing else had happened. He picked up the pieces and placed them on the counter beside a sink with the intent of not letting anyone storm in and injure themselves. After that, he quickly left the room to get back to his friends.

But as he closed the door behind him with a steady creak, he could see no sign of his friends in the hall. He stood perfectly still, trying his best to ignore the feeling of dread washing over him, and listened for any sound that would give away where they were. He heard nothing. The entire mansion was much, much too quiet, and he found that the feeling of dread could not be stopped. He swallowed thickly and walked hesitantly down the hall back towards the staircase.

_They left without me! How regrettable. Feliciano could have at least called for me before they left. I'll have to catch up with them._

Kiku resisted the urge to look down the adjoined halls or explore the other two floors and walked straight over to the double doors, reaching out to open them. However, when he pulled or pushed, the doors did not open. He tried pulling with a stronger grip, but they merely rattled on their hinges in protest. He could not remember Gilbert closing the door as they walked in. There was no way any of them could have locked the door with no key. The dread began to turn into panic, but Kiku closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe.

_The door is just stuck. It's an old mansion, so the metal will have rusted. I will try again in a moment._

As he calmed himself, he thought about exploring the rest of the first floor while he was still there. Without glancing behind him or even at the staircase, he rounded the corner down the left hall. He passed a door as he went, and attempted to open it, but that too would not budge. With a sigh of frustration, Kiku decided perhaps now was not the best time and he returned back to the main part of the hall. He paced about for a moment or two, thinking of what could have happened, until he heard thumping on the floor above him. Not a thought of supernatural phenomena passed his mind as he deemed it to be his friends and he rushed up the stairs.

He did not see a shadow against the wall beside the staircase shift as he propelled past.


End file.
